Alma Mater
by Iona Nineve
Summary: "I'm more of a cricket man, actually." Just how much of one is he? Enough for Henry to turn on a TV when concerning his dear alma mater. So what happens when Jo is added to the mix.


**Disclaimer: Forever is not mine.**  
 **Just a little idea that wouldn't leave me alone.**

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Abe arrived home from running some late errands. Upon stepping in he heard a triumphant cry from upstairs. Shaking his head at his father's unending eccentricities, he climbed the stairs. Generally sports were not Henry's thing, and use of the television even less so, however once or twice a year such an occasion as this signaled a Cambridge/Oxford cricket match. Henry was seated on the couch leaning forward, intent upon the game unfolding on the TV.

"Who's winning?"

"Cambridge." He replied, not moving his gaze from the screen. "No! You imbeciles! Make that Oxford." He corrected through the hand that covered his face, after a play ended poorly for Cambridge.

Abe took a seat in one of the chairs and settled in for a long and rather confusion filled few hours. After several minutes, which proved a further detriment to Cambridge, he got back to his feet and headed toward the kitchen. "Not that this isn't terribly entertaining, but I think the experience can be made better by a couple beers. Want one?"

"Yes, that would be much appreciated." Henry answered, tearing his gaze away from the disheartening sight in front of him.

While in the kitchen, before he reached the fridge, the sound of knocking reached him from the store below. Taking the detour he went to see who it might be. He opened the door, behind which Jo stood, and let her in.

"Sorry, I know it's late. I was wondering if I could see Henry." She asked, holding up a case folder she had wanted to drop off for the ME.

"He's upstairs."

Just then an exclamation of dismay sounded from above followed by a loud thud, likely Henry's head pounded upon the coffee table.

"What's he doing up there?" She asked, not expecting an answer, as she went up the stairs and came to where Henry sat. She looked briefly at the TV and thought she recognized the game. "Never pegged you as much of the sports type, Henry, especially to this extent." She looked again at the screen. "That's not baseball. Right, you're a cricket man, I remember now."

"Henry's always been a big believer in the supremacy of English sports. Especially cricket." Abe explained as he returned to the living room, hands full of beer bottles.

"Too American for your blood?"

"Now understand, I don't hate baseball, it is quite enjoyable as far as sports go," out of view, Abe rolled his eyes sarcastically, "but I do prefer a good old game of cricket."

"Your beer." Abe offered, pushing a bottle before Henry's face.

"Thank you." Henry graciated, accepting the beer offered him.

"Would you like to join us, Jo?" Abe asked, offering a bottle to her as well.

Obviously it was already expected that she would so she assented. "My curiosity has been raised. Why not?" She replied, taking the bottle and sitting down next to Henry. "Truthfully, I'm surprised to find you so rocus." She commented, throwing his own judgement of American sports goers at him for good measure.

"I suppose I have a certain interest of attachment. At Cambridge it was the duty of medical students to attend matches and practices to tend to any injuries incurred."

"Cambridge? I thought you graduated from Oxford."

"Why would you think that?" He asked, bringing his gaze quickly to her from the game, looking both confused and rather offended.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because your file says so." She answered, very confused. The other two only paying attention to the each other, Abe was free to bring a palm to his forehead in utter disbelief of his father's stupidity. After years of this tradition, and incidents of a similar nature, he was well aware that Henry concentrates fully on what he is doing making him very bad at multitasking, and occasionally that extends to keeping his secret.

Henry himself then realized the trap he had walked in to, remembering his own relief when her search into his personal file revealed nothing out of the ordinary. He glanced with brief desperation to Abe, praying this would tacitly express his need for help.

Apparently it did so, for Abe came in at that moment with the perfect explanation of these discrepancies. "It's probably just a clerical error, a typo or something."

Picking up from this, Henry continued. "Yes, information sometimes gets confused during transfer between countries. The two most famous universities in England, it is a reasonable mistake. I shall have to see that it gets corrected."

Jo seemed to accept this and they all turned their attentions to the game, "Cricket always sounded really complicated, to me."

"Because it is." Abe stated, thinking back to his childhood when his parents had tried to teach him to play.

Henry only made a huffing sound, as his attention returned to the unfolding game. Both Abe and Jo were amazed, yet grateful, that no lecture on the rules of cricket was to come. Abe, having past experience with the event, was familiar with the strange workings of the sport and so took it upon himself to explain to Jo details which Henry had neglected to describe. In the time they had been talking Cambridge had regained the lead, only to lose it in the last few minutes of the game, marked by a loud exclamation from Henry.

With a heavy down-hearted sigh Henry downed the remainder of his bottle and got up to switch off the TV. "Well, there's always next year."

"Or the year after that, or the one after that, or after that one." Abe added, until stopped by a stern look aimed in his direction from Henry.

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 **About Henry actually going to Cambridge, its a personal head-canon, that the university Liz chose was close but not quite right and I sensed a little offense amid the confusion and relief when Jo said Oxford, at the end of "Social Engineering".**  
 **Hope you enjoyed.**


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